7 Oscar-winning actors: Adrien Brody, Gwyneth Paltrow, and more

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The Oscar is considered the most prestigious award not only in Hollywood, but throughout the entire cinematic world. Therefore, it is not for nothing that all those who take part in the creation of films are fighting for the receipt of the coveted statuette. After all, the bonus to the award is success, recognition, career takeoff, increased fees and respect. But "Oscar" does not always mean that all doors are now open in front of you. Actors for whom the “golden ticket” did not bring the expected success were convinced of this by their own example.

1. Adrien Brody (Oscar for Best Actor in The Pianist, 2003)

Despite the fact that the actor began acting in films since the end of the 80s, for a long time he got only minor supporting roles. Therefore, Roman Polanski's drama The Pianist, where Brody played the Polish-Jewish musician Vladislav Shpilman, became a real breakthrough for the man. Critics rave about Adrien's talent, but the fact that he will receive the prize for Best Actor in 2003 was not expected by many. After all, the actor became the youngest winner of this award (at that time he was 29 years old) and bypassed such luminaries as Nicolas Cage and Jack Nicholson.

After such success, it seemed logical that the guy did not disappear. However, directors and producers stubbornly did not want to notice him, most often offering him bright, but not the main roles. This was the case, for example, in the films The Grand Budapest Hotel and King Kong. But, unfortunately, "The Pianist" is still the brightest and only triumph in Brody's career.

Although some of Adrien's colleagues believe that he could not consolidate his success, not because he received an Oscar by accident, but because he has a bad character. According to those who happened to work with the actor, Brody is often aggressive towards others, does not communicate with anyone and does not even say hello.

2. Kim Basinger (Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in Los Angeles Secrets, 1998)

In the late 80s and early 90s, Basinger was considered one of the most successful actresses: she starred a lot, and, it should be noted, films with her participation were popular (take at least Nine and a Half Weeks). However, Kim herself often complained that basically she was offered monotonous roles, seeing in her first of all a beautiful girl, and not a talented person.

It is not known how long the actress would have waited for her finest hour if Curtis Hanson had not invited her to star in the film "Los Angeles Secrets". It was thanks to her participation in this picture that Kim was able to reveal all the facets of her talent. This was noted by the members of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts, presenting her with the long-awaited Oscar. After the triumph, Basinger decided to prove that the award was not in vain, but, alas, she failed to repeat the success. Only in Mile Eight did the actress play a prominent role, but now she is mainly engaged in small projects. Many are sure that the decline of Kim's career happened due to her passion for plastic surgery: the star simply lost her former beauty.

3. Jessica Lange (Oscar and Best Supporting Actor in Tootsie, 1983; Oscar for Best Performance in Blue Sky, 1995)

Jessica is one of the few actresses who could get two Oscars at once, and she had every chance to rise on a par with such stars of the first magnitude as, for example, Meryl Streep. However, Lang's second statuette had to wait more than ten years after receiving the first. And after the triumph in 1995, the celebrity career went downhill altogether.

It turned out that the whole thing is in the actress's legibility and lack of flair for good roles. It was Jessica herself who at one time refused to participate in many large-scale Hollywood projects, and preferred the works of unknown, but, in her opinion, promising directors. Alas, many of these films weren't even released. In addition, in 1999, Lange even managed to get the "Golden Raspberry" for her participation in the film "Legacy" - critics called her the worst actress.

Since then, the star has almost completely moved away from the big cinematography and mostly starred only in TV series.

4. Mira Sorvino (Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in The Great Aphrodite, 1996)

Thanks to Woody Allen, more than one star was lit in due time. So the aspiring actress Mira Sorvino was lucky: the eminent director invited her to star in the film "The Great Aphrodite". The actress was noticed, presented with the coveted prize and began to be invited to the main roles in other films. True, many of them turned out to be through passage.

Soon Mira completely disappeared from sight and occasionally only appeared in small projects. For many years, many critics could not understand why the talented actress was so unlucky. Sorvino herself decided to reveal the truth. According to her, at one time she rejected the advances of Harvey Weinstein, and the offended producer tried to prevent the intractable star from being given bright roles.

5. Gwyneth Paltrow (Oscar for Best Actress in Shakespeare in Love, 1999)

Gwyneth's acting career took off in the mid-90s, and it is only logical that she marked the end of the decade with an Oscar for her role as Viola in Shakespeare in Love. However, as it turned out, this was the beginning of the end. Paltrow herself once admitted that after the award was presented, she woke up as a star that no one needed, hinting that the award was cursed.

However, many are inclined to believe that it was not the directors who were afraid not to pull an actress of this level, but the celebrity herself is to blame for the fact that her career began to decline. The fact is that the bitchy nature of Gwyneth has long been legendary. Those who happened to work with her note that Paltrow behaves arrogantly, considers himself better than others and constantly points out to others about their shortcomings. True, the actress still managed to rehabilitate a little by taking part in the MARVEL series of films about Iron Man.

6. Mo'Nik (Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the film Treasure, 2010)

For Monica Angela Ames (the actress's real name), "Treasure" was practically the first big film in which she starred. Yesterday's debutante so well got used to the image of the main character's mother that even for herself she unexpectedly received an Oscar.

It would seem that the prestigious award was supposed to guarantee that Mo'Nik would soon have no shortage of leading roles. But it was not there. Almost immediately, the actress was forgotten. It is not known what caused this: star fever due to the sudden collapse of fame, or the fact that the directors could not appreciate Monica's talent. But for the next five years after the Oscars, she did not act at all. Ames' last notable work was his participation in the film "Blackbird" in 2014.

7. Roberto Benigni (Oscar for Best Actor in Life is Beautiful, 1999)

In 1999, at the Oscar ceremony, a real sensation happened: the Italian tragicomedy Life is Beautiful received statuettes in the nominations for Best Actor and Best Foreign Language Film. Moreover, Roberto Benigni not only starred in this film in the title role, but also directed the masterpiece. At the same time, an unknown Italian nugget managed to bypass Tom Hanks himself.

However, this triumph remained the only one in Benigni's career. And his next work, Pinocchio, received a Golden Raspberry nomination as the worst film of the year. Plus, Roberto doesn't speak English well. And this, you see, plays an important role in Hollywood.